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Roster spot in hand, Harvey works on refining pitches

Collins says young Mets pitcher going about spring starts the right way

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- In his second Grapefruit League start, Mets right-hander Matt Harvey continued working toward the regular season Saturday afternoon against the Marlins at Tradition Field.

The 23-year-old struck out four batters and walked another in 2 2/3 innings. He threw 49 pitches.

His lone blemish came on the third pitch of the game, which Marlins top hitting prospect Christian Yelich sent over the right-field wall for a home run.

"I thought Matt threw good," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Hung a slider first inning, and as you saw in different counts, he was working on some things. He threw some changeups behind in the count, which he needs to do. Now that he knows that he's got this club made, I think he's going about it the right way, which is, 'Hey, I've got to refine my stuff and get my stuff ready.'"

Unlike last season when the rookie didn't use his curveball that often over his 10 starts, Harvey utilized it and all his other pitches on Saturday. Though he was happy with his curveball, Harvey admitted his fastball location still wasn't where he wants it to be.

"It was a little cold and a little tough getting a grip on the ball, but I've got to get used to it and figure it out," said Harvey, who faced a game-time temperature of 59 degrees. "I did a lot of good things and I did a lot of bad things. Obviously I've still got work to do, but other than that, everything feels good."